Idaho Elk — Unit 18

Idaho Unit 18 covers 180,764 acres and lies 35 miles south-west of Grangeville and 68 miles south-east of Lewiston. 80% of it is public land, mostly national forest (76%) and BLM (2%). In 2025, 248 people hunted elk here and took 120 — 48% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 150 tags here for 26 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):270 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:359 Hunter success (2025):48% Public land:80% Size:180,764 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 18, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

2002 Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 18 80 tags · 201 applicants

4% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
2056 Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 18 150 tags · 26 applicants

58% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
2121 Antlered elk, archery, Hunt Area 18 40 tags · 132 applicants

3% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
2002 ↗ Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 18 Rifle	4% Long shot	0%	—	80 / 201	Oct 1–24, 2026
2056 ↗ Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 18 Rifle	58% Real chance	0%	—	150 / 26	Oct 20 – Nov 10, 2026
2121 ↗ Antlered elk, archery, Hunt Area 18 Archery	3% Long shot	0%	—	40 / 132	Aug 30 – Sep 30, 2026

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge: plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
As 2nd choice: Idaho lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants: tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Per application	$203	$203	$854.75

Application window: opens May 1, closes Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Unit 18 within Idaho

Unit 18 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

National Forest 137,332 ac · 76%
Private 36,176 ac · 20%
BLM 3,590 ac · 2%
State land 2,078 ac · 1%
Other public 1,044 ac · 1%

Source: BLM Idaho Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season. Idaho's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states.